The late John Hughes Palladium’s chief projectionist was an excellent self taught tv engineer, probably the most knowledgable in town.
He could be quite witty, he once told me during the run of ‘The Longest Day’ “another week of this and I would have been suffering from shell shock” !.
Although i’m from Pwllheli in Wales and still live there,I have many relatives in Liverpool and had been to many of the city center cinemas by the time I was 11 or 12 during the 1950’s.
These included all three in lime Street as well as the Tatler,also The Palais De Luxe & the Clayton Square News Theatre.
But alas not the Gaumont,well not that I can remember anyway, here is a not to sharp a photo from the mid nineties. View link
When on holiday in South Wales in 1990 I visited the Odeon Swansea,it was a scorching June day (remember them?) The projectionist (who’s name I do'nt recall) very kindly showed me around all 3 screens.
I seem to recall that he told me the projectionist’s had to lose their wash room to accomodate a third screen. We never had such comforts, if you needed a wash or whatever, it was down endless flights of stairs, and even worse up again !
I think that the people residing in the cities are very lucky in being able to compare one multiscreen against the other, our nearest multiplex the Cineworld LLandudno Junction is 50 miles from Pwllheli, and although the seating is extremely comfortable there’s no showmanship involved in the film presentation. I like many on the Cinema Treasures posts love tabs.
Afraid the Coliseum is in Crisis, it may have to close it’s doors within the next two weeks unless they get a cash injection, the building needs much work on it. Its not run voluntary as intimated on Mr Roe’s Contribution, they empoy 10 part time staff,although I beleive they have a different manager every week from the chamber of trade,which is voluntary.
Maybe the answer is to try and run it with vounteers as quite a few manage to do so succesfully these days.
The Cinema Directory for 1958 has The Pavilion listed along with the Lyric & The Public Hall, I can only assume they had not deleted it from their listings as there are mistakes here & there in the book.
However it states that the building was on Church street, if that is of any help.
I also remember the school trips to the cinema, another one during the same year as The Conquest Of Everest (1953) was the Coronation Of Queen Elizabeth II, not a film to hold the attention of us under 11’s.
I remember this cinema being featured on Barry Norman’s Film (not sure of the year) programme,with Katie Derham taking the Rex’s projectionist on a tour of the new Warner (now Vue) multiplex in Leicester Square. Is he still involved with the cinema I wonder?
Just had another look at my video,there was an organ as verified by Element54,could not tell the make of the instrument. I never saw the Monico inside or out except for photographs but I had no reason to make this up.
Just had a look in my book ‘The Kinematograph Year Book’ for 1958, and Theatr Gwaun is listed as The Cinema (Westerb Electric) sound. proprietors Williams Bros, 3, Main street.
Just viewed Theatr Gwaun on Google Street, and was wondering from the design of it if it started life as a chapel? The projection room was obviously added on later, also is the fire escape from the box the only access into it. I’ve seen on the Welsh news that council funding is to cease shortly, but nice to see that volunteers want to keep it going.
The projection room is very small at this cinema,but quite pleasent to work in,especially during the summer when you can go for a break on the spacious flat roof, with a grand view over cardigan bay of Harlech and Barmouth.
There are no steps from the box to the roof, just open the door and your on it,the box was built on the flat roof in 1930 to accommodate the advent of sound and for many years one had to access the roof to get in,there’s now a covered landing to enter.
This is not the first time I’ve read about projectionists finding BTH projectors being difficult to operate. I worked on BTH for many years and found them so easy and simple to lace up and operate.
Maybe it depends which model one has worked on, our’s were BTH Type A, I’ve helped out a bit at cinemas with Cinemeccanica machines and found them difficult to thread the film around the sound head with all those rollers.
This bar on cinemas by the bigger circuits was very unfair,they often booked films they were unable to fit in just to prevent the independent hall from screening it.
Then when the film had been out for a considerable period it was available for the independents, we at our indpendent cinema often had to show pictures which were released as the supporting half of a double feature as the main film.
good thing that these were often westerns with stars such as Audie Murphy as cowboy films were very popular in those days.
Peter Moore had already installed projection and sound equipment at the Empire, for all I know they may well still be there,I think it was going to be a no frills set up as the screen was a painted wall.
I also remember an item on the Welsh News on tv that some local organisation (I do not think it was the council)were looking into the possibility of carrying through with the venture,but nothing came of it.Shame really I suppose funding was the main stumbling block.
Glad to see the first contribution on these posts has been corrected,I only mention this otherwise my comments that it was not demolished would not make sense to someone reading them for the first time.
View link
View link
The late John Hughes Palladium’s chief projectionist was an excellent self taught tv engineer, probably the most knowledgable in town.
He could be quite witty, he once told me during the run of ‘The Longest Day’ “another week of this and I would have been suffering from shell shock” !.
Although i’m from Pwllheli in Wales and still live there,I have many relatives in Liverpool and had been to many of the city center cinemas by the time I was 11 or 12 during the 1950’s.
These included all three in lime Street as well as the Tatler,also The Palais De Luxe & the Clayton Square News Theatre.
But alas not the Gaumont,well not that I can remember anyway, here is a not to sharp a photo from the mid nineties.
View link
The trees were'nt very big when I took this photo in 1990.
View link
This is a photo taken 1990.
View link
Here’s a photo of the Plaza at the start of demolition.
View link
Here’s a photo I took of the Elgin when on holiday in 1991.
View link
This is an exterior view from June 1990.
View link
View link
Here’s a rather hazy photo of the Majestic.
View link
Here’s a 1964 photo of the Palladium.
View link
When on holiday in South Wales in 1990 I visited the Odeon Swansea,it was a scorching June day (remember them?) The projectionist (who’s name I do'nt recall) very kindly showed me around all 3 screens.
I seem to recall that he told me the projectionist’s had to lose their wash room to accomodate a third screen. We never had such comforts, if you needed a wash or whatever, it was down endless flights of stairs, and even worse up again !
I think that the people residing in the cities are very lucky in being able to compare one multiscreen against the other, our nearest multiplex the Cineworld LLandudno Junction is 50 miles from Pwllheli, and although the seating is extremely comfortable there’s no showmanship involved in the film presentation. I like many on the Cinema Treasures posts love tabs.
Afraid the Coliseum is in Crisis, it may have to close it’s doors within the next two weeks unless they get a cash injection, the building needs much work on it. Its not run voluntary as intimated on Mr Roe’s Contribution, they empoy 10 part time staff,although I beleive they have a different manager every week from the chamber of trade,which is voluntary.
Maybe the answer is to try and run it with vounteers as quite a few manage to do so succesfully these days.
Hi SeanP, Unable at the moment to transfer my video on line, hope to do so soon.
The Cinema Directory for 1958 has The Pavilion listed along with the Lyric & The Public Hall, I can only assume they had not deleted it from their listings as there are mistakes here & there in the book.
However it states that the building was on Church street, if that is of any help.
I also remember the school trips to the cinema, another one during the same year as The Conquest Of Everest (1953) was the Coronation Of Queen Elizabeth II, not a film to hold the attention of us under 11’s.
I remember this cinema being featured on Barry Norman’s Film (not sure of the year) programme,with Katie Derham taking the Rex’s projectionist on a tour of the new Warner (now Vue) multiplex in Leicester Square. Is he still involved with the cinema I wonder?
Just had another look at my video,there was an organ as verified by Element54,could not tell the make of the instrument. I never saw the Monico inside or out except for photographs but I had no reason to make this up.
Just had a look in my book ‘The Kinematograph Year Book’ for 1958, and Theatr Gwaun is listed as The Cinema (Westerb Electric) sound. proprietors Williams Bros, 3, Main street.
Just viewed Theatr Gwaun on Google Street, and was wondering from the design of it if it started life as a chapel? The projection room was obviously added on later, also is the fire escape from the box the only access into it. I’ve seen on the Welsh news that council funding is to cease shortly, but nice to see that volunteers want to keep it going.
The projection room is very small at this cinema,but quite pleasent to work in,especially during the summer when you can go for a break on the spacious flat roof, with a grand view over cardigan bay of Harlech and Barmouth.
There are no steps from the box to the roof, just open the door and your on it,the box was built on the flat roof in 1930 to accommodate the advent of sound and for many years one had to access the roof to get in,there’s now a covered landing to enter.
This is not the first time I’ve read about projectionists finding BTH projectors being difficult to operate. I worked on BTH for many years and found them so easy and simple to lace up and operate.
Maybe it depends which model one has worked on, our’s were BTH Type A, I’ve helped out a bit at cinemas with Cinemeccanica machines and found them difficult to thread the film around the sound head with all those rollers.
This bar on cinemas by the bigger circuits was very unfair,they often booked films they were unable to fit in just to prevent the independent hall from screening it.
Then when the film had been out for a considerable period it was available for the independents, we at our indpendent cinema often had to show pictures which were released as the supporting half of a double feature as the main film.
good thing that these were often westerns with stars such as Audie Murphy as cowboy films were very popular in those days.
Peter Moore had already installed projection and sound equipment at the Empire, for all I know they may well still be there,I think it was going to be a no frills set up as the screen was a painted wall.
I also remember an item on the Welsh News on tv that some local organisation (I do not think it was the council)were looking into the possibility of carrying through with the venture,but nothing came of it.Shame really I suppose funding was the main stumbling block.
Glad to see the first contribution on these posts has been corrected,I only mention this otherwise my comments that it was not demolished would not make sense to someone reading them for the first time.